Life After Sirius
by Cat081
Summary: In the summer after OOTP, Harry gets an unexpected house guest and a series of events occur that will change his life forever. HPNT.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Nothing and noone belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 1

Harry Potter, the boy who lived, hated his life with the Dursleys on Privet Drive. It was so predictable, get up, do chores, eat, do chores, sleep. It was the same thing every single day. Not that the sleeping part of his day came easy. All too often he fell asleep from exhaustion, only to wake up a few short hours later from the nightmares that seemed unrelenting. Every night he was forced to watch his Godfather struck down by the evil witch he had called his cousin. Every night he tried to save him. And every night he failed.

Harry lay in his bed in the early hours of the morning waiting for his aunt to unlock the door and release him from his prison. He had only been back from school for 5 days and already he was desperate to go back. Finally at 6am, he heard the turning of the locks and his aunt's voice demanding that he come downstairs and prepare breakfast.

Once his family were all eating, Harry took his own slightly burned slice of toast and sat on the back porch of the house. While the Dursley's back garden wasn't particularly interesting, anything was better than watching his uncle and cousin shovelling food into their mouths.

Two pops, which Harry recognised as the sound of apparition, made Harry look up. Albus Dumbledore and Nymphadora Tonks stood on the other side of the garden. Harry stood quickly, "What are you doing here sir? I thought…" Harry trailed off as he took in the sight of Tonks. Her face was tearstained and she looked like she had just lost her best friend. "Tonks, what's the matter?" asked Harry, desperate to know if he could help his late godfather's favourite cousin.

Tonks remained silent, her eyes fixed on the grass beneath her feet. Dumbledore intervened, "Perhaps this conversation should happen inside the house. Mr Potter, if you wouldn't mind?" he said, with a nod towards the back door. Harry took the hint and pushed open the door, gesturing for Dumbledore and Tonks to enter first.

Evidently the Dursleys had finished their breakfasts, but the dishes remained for Harry to clear away. "Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon," called Harry, "we have a couple of visitors"

"I didn't hear the doorbell," called the voice of Uncle Vernon, "what are you talking about boy?"

Harry led his headmaster and Tonks through to the living room where the Dursleys sat around the television. Seeing the people following Harry through the door, Vernon began turning purple. "What are they doing here?" he roared, "I already have to put up with you; I will not have any other freaks in this house!"

Harry turned to look at Dumbledore. His normally cheerful headmaster was now very angry, "Mr Dursley, I am aware that you and your family are not the greatest fans of magic, but you will not refer to anyone as a freak!" Uncle Vernon sat back down next to his wife and his face returned to its normal colour. "Thank you," said Dumbledore, "now, as to why we are here, it is a long story and I think we would all be more comfortable with a cup tea. By the way, this is Nymphadora Tonks; I don't believe you have met before."

Harry was now certain that something had happened to Tonks, as she didn't react to the use of her first name. Dumbledore waved his wand and tea with a selection of cakes appeared on the table. "Now," he started, looking at the seated Dursleys "are we all sitting comfortably?" Harry rolled his eyes, trust Dumbledore to be unaffected by the awkward tension that filled the room. Dumbledore conjured another sofa as the two male Dursleys filled the three-seater already in the room and Petunia occupied the remaining armchair.

He gestured for Harry and Tonks to join him, and a surprised Harry took his place in the middle of the sofa. Tonks' gaze had never left the floor, but as she sat, she leaned back and closed her eyes tightly as if wishing she were somewhere else. "As you will know by now," said Dumbledore, "Lord Voldemort has returned." Harry looked over at Aunt Petunia as she gasped, apparently for all her hatred of the wizarding world, she was well aware of who Lord Voldemort was.

"He and his death eaters," continued Dumbledore, "have been responsible for many deaths in the last few days. It seems he is attempting to get his hands on the Black family fortune, and is attacking anyone who may prevent Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange from inheriting." Harry glanced at Tonks as she let out a small sob. It was obvious to him that she was one of the targets Dumbledore was referring to.

"The most recent casualties were Andromeda and Ted Tonks," stated Dumbledore quietly, "Nymphadora's parents." Harry, who had still been half expecting this, was still surprised to hear it said out loud. Even though he had never met either of them, they had still been another link to Sirius, and now they too were gone.

Dumbledore then moved on quickly, knowing how painful this must be for Tonks. "The reason we are here, is that Nymphadora is now very much a target for Lord Voldemort and though she is a very capable witch, she does need whatever extra protection we can offer her. The strongest protections possible are the blood wards which surround this house."

It took mere seconds for the Dursleys to react. Vernon began turning purple again. Petunia kept shaking her head and muttering, "not another one, please not another one" and Dudley squealed and ran from the room and up the stairs. Uncle Vernon knew it would not help to get angry and attempted to talk to Dumbledore. "That would be impossible; we just don't have the space. My sister will be visiting from next week and she'll be staying in the spare room." This was news to Harry, although he wasn't entirely surprised.

Dumbledore though wasn't fazed. "No matter," he said, "Miss Tonks is a fully qualified witch, I'm sure she will be able to make Harry's room liveable for the both of them, won't you Nymphadora?" For the first time since she had arrived on Privet Drive, Tonks turned to look at Harry. "Come on then Harry," she muttered so that only he could hear her, adding in a louder voice "show me this room of yours." Dumbledore nodded his approval and Harry followed Tonks out of the room leaving his relatives to sort out all the details with his headmaster. "I think we'd better leave the room alterations to Dumbledore," added Tonks quietly as they ascended the stairs, "transfiguration has never been my strongpoint."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- thanks for all the reviews, this is my first attempt at fanfic so I really appreciate them. I know it has been suggested that I write longer chapters, but due to real life, it is very unlikely that I will be able to. I will try to keep updates as regular as possible though. This chapter may still be slightly depressing, but it will improve later.

**Disclaimer:** Nothing and noone belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 2

Tonks stopped as they reached the door of Harry's bedroom. "It's nothing" said Harry, waving his arms dismissively at the locks on which Tonks' gazed was fixed. "Yeah, of course not Harry, all 15 year olds have locks on the outside of their bedroom doors… and a cat flap" she added looking down.

"I'm nearly 16!" Harry knew that his response was weak, but he really did not want to talk about his life with the Dursleys, at least not yet. At least her newfound interest in his living conditions had forced Tonks out of her depressed state. If it would make Tonks forget the drama in her own life at the morning he was more than willing to field a few awkward questions from her.

As they walked into the room Harry noticed that while it wasn't untidy, it was definitely not clean. "Sorry about the mess," he apologised, "I wasn't expecting visitors, I'll just get the vacuum cleaner."

"Scourgify"

Harry stopped. "You just used magic," he stated, not caring that his was pointing out the obvious, "If I get a letter from the ministry again, you're going to explain this to them."

"Relax Harry, Dumbledore already told them that there would be someone staying here with you this summer, they are expecting magic to be used here." Harry still wasn't convinced, his previous experiences with the ministry making him wary, but he decided to take Tonks at her word.

There was a knock at the door and Dumbledore entered the room. "Now Harry, your relatives are happy for the two of you to stay here as long as you remain in this room while in the house." Harry thought that Dumbledore's use of the word happy was probably an over exaggeration, but didn't comment as Dumbledore began to wave his wand in complicated patterns and mutter spells under his breath.

They were now standing in a comfortable living room, with 2 small sofas and a small television set (an old one of Dudley's that had previously been lying broken in a corner of Harry's room). Dumbledore pointed at the three doors that had appeared in the living room walls. "The two doors at the back will take you to the bedrooms" he said, "while the door to the right is the bathroom. I was going to provide a kitchen too, but I have had a better idea…DOBBY!"

There was a loud pop and Dobby, the house elf that that Harry had freed in his second year of Hogwarts was standing in the middle of the room. As soon as he saw Harry, he ran at full speed to him and grabbed his right leg in a hug. "Master Harry Potter!" he cried, "Dobby has been waiting for you to call him. He is wanting to be of service to his favourite wizard!"

Harry blushed. "Err… I didn't call you Dobby. The headmaster did. But it is nice to see you again." Dobby beamed at him, but released his leg and turned to face Dumbledore.

"Actually Dobby, I was hoping that you would agree to spend the summer, at least, working for Harry. He and Miss Tonks will need breakfast, lunch and dinner to be served to them in these rooms." The headmaster's eyes were twinkling and Harry realised that this was Dumbledore's so called better idea. No doubt Dobby would keep him so full of food that he would begin to look like his uncle and cousin.

While Harry's thoughts processed all of this, Dobby returned to Hogwarts, with a promise to bring them dinner later. "It's all settled then. Harry, please try not to aggravate your relatives too much. It would probably be best if you were to remain in your rooms whenever possible." With a final nod and a wave goodbye, Dumbledore disapparated.

Harry turned to Tonks. Without the distraction provided by Dumbledore she had returned her gaze to the floor. Harry touched her shoulder and she flinched slightly. "How about we sit down" said Harry, gesturing to the sofas behind her.

Tonks sat down; her hands folded in her lap and raised her head so that her eyes met Harry's. Harry watched her, not knowing what he could say to make her feel better. He knew that the last thing she would want would be him telling her that everything would be okay. So he didn't. Instead, in the bravest, most Gryffindorish action of his life so far, he reached out and pulled Tonks into his arms.

It took just seconds for her defences to break and she cried desperately into his chest. "I'm so sorry," he said after a few minutes, "I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better, but I'm here whenever you need me."

Tonks looked up at him. She had stopped crying, but her eyes still shone with tears. "Thanks, I just feel so alone," she told him.

"I've felt alone almost my entire life" replied Harry, "but now we have each other. We don't have to be alone anymore." Tonks gave him a small smile, but still did not move from her place in his arms. The last few days had been hell for her, but now for the first time, she felt completely safe.

Harry, for his part, was not willing to let Tonks go yet. His extremely predictable summer had taken again and he was one hundred percent sure it would be for the better. Eventually though, Harry felt the need to apologise for what had happened earlier in the year and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry about Sirius, I should never have gone to the ministry, I should have checked again, I should have…" But Tonks cut him off with a hand across his mouth. "None of it was your fault. You were trying to save him. The only people to blame are Voldemort and Bellatrix". "And Kreacher," added Harry.

At her confused look he explained, "I tried to floo Sirius before we left for the ministry but Kreacher told me he wasn't there. If I had known he was lying I would never have gone."

"Well I hate to be the bearer of good news," smirked Tonks, "but Kreacher went to clean out the Hippogriff room last week and Buckbeak attacked him. He ripped him to pieces." Harry sighed in satisfaction and muttered, "Good boy Buckbeak."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Nothing and noone belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them.

A/N- thanks for all your reviews, I have just started my postgrad at university, but I'll try to keep updates as regular as possible. Reviews encourage me to write faster!

Chapter 3

Harry and Tonks settled into life together over the next few days. They spent the mornings working on Harry's homework, which was completed far quicker than ever before. In the afternoons Tonks either taught Harry auror level DADA theory or they played chess and watched television. In the evenings they spent hours getting to know each other.

Harry opened up to Tonks about his life with the Dursley's. When she first heard about how they had treated him, she was ready to kill them, but Harry calmed her by telling her that he did not want the best summer of his life to be ruined by her being sent to Azkaban.

Tonks was surprised at the feelings she was developing for Harry. She was 21, and he was only fifteen… well, nearly sixteen. But he had been so supportive, and she felt like she had known him forever. Last night he had even come into her room to wake her from a nightmare. When she didn't want to go back to sleep for fear of seeing her parents dead bodies again, he had held her until she fell asleep, carding his fingers through her hair to keep her calm.

It was the middle of July and Harry and Tonks had decided to spend the afternoon watching movies. Half way through the second movie of the day Harry turned to Tonks, "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as you don't mind me reserving the right to not answer."

Harry smiled, "Of course not, I was just wondering… what do you really look like?" It was something Harry had been curious about ever since he had met Tonks, but only now did he feel comfortable enough to ask her.

Tonks looked at Harry, not saying anything. He was about to tell her not to worry, that it didn't matter, when she began to change. Her spiky pink hair became a dark, shiny brown, and her usually purple eyes became a bluish-grey. Her face, which was usually quite round, became longer and was nicely framed by her hair. Her breasts increased slightly in size too, straining slightly against the t-shirt she was wearing.

She watched Harry, waiting for a reaction. It was rare that she allowed anyone to see her like this, but she trusted Harry. Finally he spoke, "Wow! You look amazing!"

Tonks smiled at him, "Thanks, but if you don't mind I feel more comfortable like this", and she reverted back to the spiky pink Tonks that he had come to know and…love? Did he love her? He knew that he liked her, and she now knew more about him that anyone else, including his best friends.

Well, there was only one way to find out if there was a chance for them to be more than friends. "Tonks," he asked, "why don't we go out one night this week? You could apparate us out of the house and we could do dinner and a movie." Harry knew it was cliché, but they would be safer in the muggle world and he had never been to the cinema before.

"Are you asking me on a date Mr Potter?" teased Tonks.

"Yes Miss Tonks," replied Harry nervously, "Yes I am."

Tonks looked at Harry and became very serious. "Well then I accept. But we should probably have a discussion first."

Harry nodded his agreement. He was well aware of the age difference between them and he knew that it would be more of an issue for Tonks than it was for him.

"I can't say I really understand it," started Tonks, "all I know is that I feel completely comfortable around you, and I have never felt so safe. I really don't understand how you can be so nice growing up around the Dursleys but I really like you."

"Like me, or _like_ like me?"

Tonks laughed, "The second, do you think maybe we could go slow though?"

"Sure," agreed Harry, "after all, we live together, we probably shouldn't jump into a proper relationship too quickly." He grinned, "Anyway, if we are going to be dating, I think I should be able to call you by your first name." Seeing the look on her face he quickly added, "Or maybe some variation of it. Would Nym be acceptable? Or maybe Dora?"

Tonks became thoughtful. "Dora sounds ok, but you are the only one allowed to call me that."

"Agreed" said Harry, before she could change her mind. "So Dora…" but before he could get halfway through his sentence he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Boy!" sounded the voice of Uncle Vernon, "get out here!" Harry glanced apologetically at Tonks before turning to open the door. This would be the first time he had seen his uncle since the day Tonks arrived.

Pulling the door open he came face to face with his uncle. "Yes Uncle Vernon, you wanted to see me?"

"Don't get smart with me boy. I never _want_ to see you. I just came to inform you that your Aunt Marge will be staying with us for a week starting tomorrow. You are not to leave your room while she is here and I don't want to hear any noise up here either." With that he turned and left. Harry shut the door. "Dora, do you think you could put a silencing charm around the room so that we can at least talk for the next few days?"

"Sure Harry. You know this will be so much easier when you're sixteen. Then you'll be able to do this stuff for yourself."

"I will?" asked Harry, confused, "I thought that seventeen was the age of majority- that's what Ron told me."

"It is for most," admitted Tonks, "but as you are the head of your family, and the last remaining Potter, you will reach your majority at sixteen."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Does that mean I can get my apparition license early too?"

"Yes, but I think that there would be an extra fee, maybe 100 galleons or so."

Harry nodded again, but seemed distracted. "Dora, is there anyway I can find out how much money I actually have?" Tonks' reply was stopped by a tapping at the window. It was an owl, and tied around its leg were two very official looking letters. "You would jus need to write Gringotts and ask for a statement" said Tonks, answering Harry's question while untying the letters from the owl. "There's one of these for each of us" she added, passing Harry a letter. While Tonks gave the delivery owl a treat, Harry opened the letter.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Following the recent death of your godfather, Sirius Black, a will reading will be held on Friday 30__th__ July at 2.30 pm. You attendance is required. Please send confirmation of your attendance with your owl as soon as possible. _

_Ragnok_

_Goblin Chief of Gringotts_

Harry paled and Tonks, who had been watching him read, quickly opened her own letter. After skimming over her own invitation to the will reading, she rushed to his side and pulled him to her. Harry, who had kept all his emotions about Sirius locked away for so long, broke down in her arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nothing and noone belongs to me

**Disclaimer:** Nothing and no one belongs to me. I'm just borrowing them.

A/N- thanks for all your reviews, I have been really busy lately so this is just a short chapter. I will try to get something a bit longer written as soon as I can.

Chapter 4

Two hours had passed since Harry and Tonks had found out about Sirius' will reading and he was now asleep on the sofa, his head pillowed on Tonks' lap. After Harry had stopped crying, he and Tonks had talked about their memories of Sirius and Harry found that this helped him to cope with Sirius' death.

Just knowing that he could talk to Tonks, and that she had loved Sirius as much as he did, relieved Harry. He had kept all his feelings bottled up for so long, and now he felt so much better for letting them all out.

As Harry slept, Tonks thought about how quickly Harry had been forced to grow up. He had seen so much death in his life, and despite his awful childhood with the Dursleys, he lacked the bitterness she would have expected.

Tonks was pulled from her thoughts by a flash of light, and her slight jump of shock was enough to wake Harry. He sat up, "Hello Fawkes." Tonks looked from Harry to the phoenix which had been flying above her. As Harry spoke, it came to land on his shoulder and let out a sympathetic trill. Harry gave a half smile and rubbed his cheek gently against the soft feathers.

"Thanks Fawkes," he said, removing the letter from around the bird's leg, "is he expecting a reply?"

Tonks was confused when Harry nodded as though understanding the birds responding trill and watched as he opened the letter. "It's from Dumbledore. He's going to escort us to the will reading on the 30th and then we will stay at Grimmauld until August 1st. apparently there is some sort of party organised for my birthday. Are you okay with that?" he asked, looking at Tonks.

"Sure, after another two weeks here we could probably use a break from your relatives anyway." Harry nodded and used a muggle pen to scribble 'fine, see you then' on the parchment before tying it back onto Fawkes, who flashed away.

Tonks glanced at Harry, "I didn't realise your birthday was that soon? Any ideas for your present?"

Harry just shrugged and changed the subject, "so, why don't we go on that date tomorrow then. We'll need cheering up after meeting Aunt Marge."

"I thought your uncle said we wouldn't see her?"

"Marge will want to see me though. Teasing me about the fact that I'm an orphan is her favourite activity. It's entertaining for her."

Tonks knew she should be shocked, but she was already aware of how Harry's Uncle Vernon treated him, why should Aunt Marge be any different? "Tomorrow night it is then." Harry smiled, grateful that Tonks hadn't asked more questions about Aunt Marge.

The next day, Aunt Marge arrived just after Harry and Tonks had finished lunch. Aunt Petunia called Harry out of his room, but only so that he could carry Aunt Marge's suitcase to the spare room. Tonks waited on the upstairs landing, watching while Harry approached Aunt Marge at the foot of the stairs.

"Can I take your bag Aunt Marge?" asked Harry politely.

"Yes," replied Aunt Marge, "and you can show me to my room while you're at it."

Harry glanced quickly at the floor, looking for Ripper, who usually followed Aunt Marge around everywhere. "If you're looking for Ripper boy, "said Aunt Marge nastily, "you won't find him. Vernon has apparently developed an allergy. He is staying with my neighbour."

Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief before lifting Aunt Marge's bag. Ripper hated him, and on Harry's part, the feeling was mutual. "That's a shame," lied Harry, "If you follow me I'll show you to the spare room"…'that you stay in every time you visit,' he added sarcastically in his head,

Harry knew Aunt Marge didn't need to be shown where her room was, she just wanted to torment him in private, he was sure. After all, she stayed in the same room every time she visited, she couldn't be so stupid that she didn't remember where it was.

As Aunt Marge reached the top of the stairs, she spotted Tonks, who was leaning against Harry's bedroom door waiting for him. "Boy, who is this, and what is she doing in the house?!"

Harry looked from Aunt Marge to Tonks, and seeing the laughter in Tonks' eyes replied, 'this is my girlfriend Aunt Marge. She's a criminal just like me!"

Harry and Tonks laughed as Aunt Marge turned and ran down the stairs screaming for her brother. Harry dropped the bag he had been carrying and walked with Tonks back into the safety of his bedroom, asking Tonks to cast a locking charm on the door as she shut it.


End file.
